Blade of the Immoral: (Ab)normal Days

With a groan, Ichijou Mitsuzi found himself jerking awake, having gone to sleep before he'd known it. Still, he felt tired from the long day yesterday. Though now that he thought about it, that day stretched into the past morning...unless it was actually tomorrow? Ichijou groaned as he got out of bed, head starting to hurt. Looking around, he could only tell that it was daytime, due to the light filtering through the curtain in the front of the Lodge. Looking at the clock on the wall, it was already a little past noon. Ichijou hadn't even taken the opportunity to undress himself last night.

After changing his clothes and washing his face, Ichijou decided to head out, figuring that it would be best to clean properly later. They had some exploring to do, which meant dirt and sweating.

Heading outside, the first thing he noticed was that the weather had cleared: it was clear and warm once again, the fog of yesterday being gone as of early morning. As Ichijou looked around, he heard footsteps from above, heading down the stairs from the upper part of the Lodge. Sure enough, Uzatei Kotetsu was coming down, eyes closed behind his glasses.

"Morning, Uzatei-kun," Ichijou greeted.

The Fashion Designer's gold eyes snapped open, and he nodded, "And to you, Ichijou-san." Shaking his head, he yawned, before heading over the Resort Restaurant without another word.

Ichijou followed, feeling pretty hungry. However, when the pair got there, only Ganaha was present, resting her head on her arms. Even the Kitchen was empty. It was to be expected, of course: it would be awfully convenient if everyone were here and ready to eat. Ichijou figured it would be different at dinner time.

Approaching Ganaha, Ichijou said, "Morning, Ganaha-chan." Her reply sounded and awfully lot like a groan of agony. A bit warily, Ichijou asked her, "You alright?"

The Producer whined, "My head is in civil war with itself."

Uzatei wondered, "Hungover? I know just the thing." As he went into the Kitchen, Ichijou was relieved someone so responsible in such matters was here. Ichijou was starting to wish he had been helping to keep a handle on things last night.

While he was gone, Ichijou noticed that Ganaha was lying on something. The Luckster asked, "Whatcha got there?"

Ganaha pushed herself up, her side-ponytail a little loose and messy. As she held up the white book, Ichijou recognized it immediately: it was the Secret Volume of the 'History of the Games of Mutual Killing' books they'd been finding. She muttered, "This was here when I got here. Minami-san was looking at it."

Nodding, Ichijou said, "I guess we'll give it a look at dinner."

As soon as he'd finished, Uzatei came out of the Kitchen, placing a glass down in front of Ganaha: crystal clear water. Ganaha pouted, which led Uzatei to reply, "Drink it."

Ganaha frowned, "It's just water."

Uzatei nodded, "Of course it's just water. What did you expect? Now drink it. Trust me."

Muttering to herself, Ganaha took the glass and downed a big gulp. Uzatei nodded, "Good, good." With a sigh, he turned to Ichijou and said, "After we eat, shall we head to the upper level? I'm curious as to what has opened up."

As he asked, Ganaha blubbered, glass still at her lips, " 'is bebber not be boison!"

Uzatei shrugged, "Poison you? With a witness?" Glancing over at Ichijou, he smirked, "Would you like a glass of water?"

Ichijou gave a nervous laugh, before saying, "I think I'll get my own food."

Uzatei shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Heading to the Kitchen, the pair got themselves a meal, before bidding farewell to Ganaha and heading up. As they passed through the Second Level, Ichijou remembered there was a pile of books waiting for him in there. He figured he'd grab them on the way down.

As the pair headed through the stone path to the Third Level, coming out at the first corner of the diamond shaped path, Ichijou recalled, "Oh, right, we never found the way up, did we."

Uzatei thought for a moment, before nodding, "You're right. You'd think it had been more obvious." Looking around, he suggested, "Well, to the right, we have the Ranger Station, but that had a cliff, so I don't think it's that way. The left had a forest, so the path might have been hidden."

Ichijou nodded, "Okay, let's check it out."

Heading down that direction, the pair kept their eye out, watching the forest, but didn't see anything of note, stopping when they reached the Hot Spring. Doubling back, they tried again, and Ichijou spotted a path along the rock wall, heading left immediately after one exited the path from the Second Level. It seemed like it was hard to spot unless you were looking for it: most heading away would be focused on the diamond shaped path and most heading towards it were likely to be on their way down, thus they would probably not notice.

Heading along the path, it eventually arced upwards, before turning back to the mountain, to an elevator door. Without hesitating, Uzatei pressed a red button next to it, and stepped back. Ichijou listened, but didn't hear anything until the door opened with a bell chimed, jumping back in shock.

Noticing, Uzatei asked, "What?"

Ichijou laughed, "Well, the other elevators here are really noisy, so..."

Uzatei thought for a moment, before nodding, "This is true..."

The duo headed in: the light was bright, comparatively, and it had a slick, clean feeling to it. As the door close and the elevator ascended, Ichijou found the trip smooth and comforting.

Uzatei noted, "Enjoying yourself?"

Ichijou looked up, before laughing, "It's just so different!"

Uzatei shook his head, mumbling, "You'd think after last night..." Ichijou gave a light, nervous chuckle, but didn't offer a response, trying not to think about Mikage. However, he couldn't help it, and his joy was quickly replaced by a bit of nausea, and it certainly wasn't motion sickness.

There was another chime as the elevator came to a stop, opening into yet another well lit room. As Ichijou stepped out and took a calming breath, he saw that this room was two stories high. The white walls and lighting gave it a clean feeling. On the lower story, there were a number of sections on the wall, each with a hook and a nameplate. Only three of them hand any clothing on them though, and two had footwear underneath as well. There was also a small, metal staircase to the second level, where a door marked 'Exit' with a red sign was visible on the opposite side of the building. There were also a couple other rooms on the upper level as well.

Looking around, the two went to the first pair of hooks on the right, both with clothing. The one on the far right read 'Ichijou', and the one next to it read 'Uzatei'. "Oh, these are for us," Ichijou noted, going over to the dark blue item hanging on his hook. Taking it off, he discovered it was a hanten: a jacket typically worn over kimonos and the like. It was thick and heavy, ideal for cold weather: it also had handy pockets in the inner lining. Donning it, Ichijou looked down, seeing a pair of wooden geta sandals and a pair of white tabi, socks made to be worn with open toed sandals, possessing a gap for the thong of the footwear.

Looking over to Uzatei, the Fashion Designer was donning a crisp, white jacket over his long sleeved dress shirt, and a sleek pair of gloves, throwing his black and yellow scarf on afterwards. Noticing the Luckster's gaze, he glanced down and gawked, "Shoes? By god, Monokuma is truly a monster, to make you put on footwear."

Ichijou gave a smile as he slipped the tabi on, saying, "Well, I have a feeling I'll regret it if I don't. They're here for a reason, right?"

Uzatei nodded, "Presumably." As Ichijou meddled with his footwear (which was a bit uncomfortably tight, likely due to the fact that Ichijou just wasn't used to it), Uzatei looked around at the other hooks. He pointed out, "There's one for each of us. Of course, there are two crossed out names, and I imagine the clothes for the deceased have been removed." He also gestured to the last hook with clothes on it: a long, brown, fur coat and a pair of heavy, heeled boots under the nameplate reading 'Ganaha'. He added, "I imagine everyone else has been by here. But guessing by the fur, and the previous levels, I have a good idea at what we'll be dealing with outside."

Unable to disagree, Ichijou stood, and headed for the staircase, his wooden footwear clacking against the hard ground. He cautiously ascended the staircase, taking care not to fall with his sandals making it a bit trickier to keep his balance.

As they reached the top, the door marked 'Exit' opened before they could reach it. Sure enough, there was a blast of cold air, and a flurry of snow as someone stepped in. Nagasaki Ayumi closed the door behind her, before looking over at the other two. Her outfit hand changed up a bit: instead of her short sleeved shirt and shorts, she had a thick long sleeved shirt and long jeans. She still kept her gray raincoat, however, but also wore a light colored scarf, which covered her lower face. Her voice a bit muffled, she greeted, "H-hello."

Raising a hand to wave, Ichijou smiled, "Hey there, Nagasaki-chan!" Uzatei kept silent as Ichijou asked, "Find anything neat?"

"It's cold," Nagasaki said quickly. Looking around, she added, "There's a large slope, I think it was the one Hina-chan said she'd been on before..." she paused, looking away, clearly a bit saddened.

Trying to change the subject, Ichijou said, "Er, you give the whole place a look? I mean, I wonder if there are any more secrets, like books or caves."

Nagasaki thought for a moment, before shaking her head, "I didn't find anything. Maybe someone else did?"

Nodding, Ichijou said, "Okay, we'll give it a look then. Thanks, Nagasaki-chan!" Parting ways, the pair headed past her and through the door, pushing it open. He braced himself against the cold, grateful for his granted clothes: it was snowing, and a bit windy as well. As his eyes adjusted to the whiteness, he saw that the sky above was gray. Blinking in surprise, he wondered why it was clearer down below.

Getting a better look around the Fourth Level, the building they had just come out of was marked with a neon sign reading 'Arashimine Resort'. Much of the level was open, white plains with nothing but a blanket of snow visible. To the left was a forest, which seemed to mark the edge of the level. However, a long distance ahead, Ichijou saw the slope Nagasaki had talked about, a long, angled snow drift. The top was barely visible, only marked by the Lift: a series of poles, heavy wire, and wide black chairs being carried up and down the slope, from a small open construct at the bottom to a large building barely in sight at the top. The path seemed to go up on the other side of the Lift, though another part went off into the forest.

Heading over, Ichijou and Uzatei reached the base of the path. There was a wide, covered landing, where the Lift chairs sank down before turning to head up the mountain slope. There were also two paths: one going up along the Lift, and the other stretch into the trees and leading out of sight.

"Which way first?" Ichijou asked, eying the Lift eagerly.

Noticing, Uzatei suggested, "I say we take the Lift-" Before he could finish, Ichijou headed onto the platform, watching as the chairs slowly came by. Each time one came close, he made to get in, but stopped, having trouble. How was he supposed to get on if it didn't stop?

Noticing, Uzatei gave an exasperated sigh, saying, "Here, watch, before you hurt yourself." Pushing past Ichijou, he waited until one of the chairs was barely within reach, before grabbing the connecting pole with one hand, the far edge of the chair in the other, and climbing on, readjusting himself in his seat as it began to leave the reach of the platform.

Getting the idea, Ichijou waited until a chair got within reach, and attempted the same thing, grabbing onto the connecting pole and the chair, before hoisting himself on. Readjusting himself, he let his legs dangle in the air as the Lift began to rise. A bit anxiously, he gripped the sides of the chair as it went over the snow below, above the path to the side. Looking over the path, he was distracted for a moment as he looked over the forest, spotting a pair of buildings in the distance. One was lower down, and had a bit of smoke rising from it, while the other was up higher, looking cold and isolated. As he craned his head to get a better look, the Lift had a slight turn as it angled back up the slope, and he slipped a little. Regaining his position, he looked ahead to see Uzatei a few chairs ahead, arms behind his head as he relaxed. Ichijou was starting to feel like he was being to tense. He still didn't want to fall though, and his questionable Luck made him wonder.

Finally, the Lift reached its end, at a larger building at the top of the slope. Ichijou watched as Uzatei slipped off, hopping onto the platform with little trouble. As his chair came up, Ichijou moved towards the edge, before hoisting himself off, landing roughly, stumbling a bit until he caught himself. Taking a breath of relief, Uzatei laughed, "Having trouble?"

Ichijou gave a short laugh, insisting, "Hah, no, I'm fine." Admittedly, he was glad to be back on solid ground. That Lift would take some getting accustomed too if he was going to be using it. Looking around, he took a look around the upper building. Nearby the opening to the Lift, there was a conspicuous, glowing red button marked 'emergency stop'. A little farther along the wall was a wide, wooden door, which Ichijou believed led out to the upper part of the slope. On the opposite side of the medium sized building, there was another door leading out. The walls in between were loaded with all kinds of stuff, from jackets and hats to some other things Ichijou didn't really recognize. There was also a countertop with a register on it, a familiar face standing behind it.

As the pair approached, Minami Fuyuko (now wearing a dark green winter coat over her purple shirt, and a matching knit cap over her curly auburn hair), crossed her arms over her chest and greeted uninterestedly, "Welcome to...this place."

Trying to be witty, Ichijou suggested, "Uh, Lift...Store." Minami simply shrugged. Though Uzatei seemed to be keeping his distance, Ichijou asked, "What is all this stuff anyway?"

Minami explained, "Skiing and snowboarding equipment, from the looks of it."

"Oh!" Ichijou exclaimed, heading over. Grabbing one of the boards, he could see the price marker name the item. Looking it over, he said, "So, you put your feet in here and then...ride it down that slope?"

Minami nodded, "Basically. I believe professionals compete by taking a ramp and preforming tricks in the air."

Returning the board, Ichijou said, "I would have liked to see Hina-chan try it..." After a moment, he noticed the awkward silence, replacing the board, and laughing, "Ah, sorry, didn't mean to get so...mopey."

Minami shrugged, "On my way here, I saw Nagasaki looking as glum as ever, so you wouldn't be the first." Stepping away from the counter, she said, "I left the Secret Volume in the restaurant. I've already given it a read, so we can discuss it later. And also..." She paused, looking over at Ichijou, stating, "I'd like to talk to you after dinner as well, if you're willing."

Wondering what it could be about, Ichijou nodded, "Okay, sounds like a plan!"

With a curt nod, Minami headed back to the Lift, taking it down. As soon as she was out of sigh, Uzatei let out a sigh of relief, insisting to Ichijou, "You'd better be careful when it comes to her."

Flinching, Ichijou insisted, "I know, I know." He was trying to act normal, around her especially, but Uzatei had a point.

Heading through the door, the pair went outside, seeing the path stretch downwards. In the other direction, Ichijou saw the slope steadily incline upward, the forest on the hill stopping at a certain point, as the slope stretched up, becoming uncovered rock, culminating at the peak of the mountain. As Ichijou looked around the edges though, he only saw rock walls or fenced off cliffs: going around wasn't going to be likely, especially considering Monokuma.

Looking down the path, there was a nearby fork that stretched across the upper part of the slope and out of sight. About halfway down the path to the lower section of the Level, the other offshoot path was still visible. Recalling the view, Ichijou asked, "Hey, Uzatei-kun, did you see those buildings on the way up?"

Uzatei nodded, "I suspect each of these two paths lead to one of the buildings."

Ichijou smiled, "Exactly what I was thinking!"

Uzatei shrugged, "You're not a hard man to read." Ichijou didn't want to agree, but he didn't have the room too either. Sensing his mood, Uzatei insisted, "Not that it's necessarily a bad thing." Ichijou decided to ignore it, making his way down the upper fork in the path.

Going along the upper part of the incline, the pair made their way through the forest. After several minutes, they came within sight of a rocky incline at the end of the path, which led to a rickety looking set of stairs, which wound around the rocks to a large metal building with a round dome roof. Ichijou said warily, "Er, that isn't like, what are they called: missile silos?"

Uzatei let out a surprised laugh, before responding, "No, of course not. It's likely an Observatory. The only thing coming out of that dome is a telescope."

Nodding in recognition, Ichijou said, "Oh, that sounds neat. Let's give it a look." Leading the way, Ichijou went over to the stairs, carefully making his way up, Uzatei on his tail. Reaching the top, Ichijou opened the door inside, peeking his head in.

It was dimmer than he had expected inside, and quite spacious. Most of the area was empty, though there was a couple empty desks off to the side. In the center, a large telescope dominated the Observatory, just as Uzatei had suggested. There was a fenced off ditch surrounding it, and a small staircase heading downwards. Heading over, Ichijou looked down the stairs to see someone standing front of a console, presumably for controlling things. At the noise of the two approaching, Furugori Yasuo, wearing a hooded coat over his short sleeved shirt, turned to the two and smile, saying, "Oh, hey guys!"

With a nod of greeting, Ichijou asked, "Whatcha doing, Furugori-kun?"

The Computer Engineer grinned, adjusting his glasses as he said, "I'm trying to get this to work. I'm going to try it one night if the skies clear up."

Ichijou smiled, "Oh, that seems fun. The moon and all the stars and stuff." He felt a slight pang as he remembered Tamura, but held his tongue.

Stepping down, Uzatei gave the console a look as well, asking, "Any progress?"

Furugori nodded, "The layout seems pretty standard. Easy to learn, you know? There are a few terms I don't understand, but I bet there's something in the Library I could use."

Remembering his earlier thoughts, Ichijou asked, "Hey, I was wondering earlier: how is it snowing up here when it's still dry down on the lower levels?"

Uzatei shrugged, "To be honest, I'm not complaining."

Furugori shrugged, "Yeah, Monokuma does what he wants, I guess. It's annoying, sure, but I guess we just have to deal with it."

Ichijou let out a sigh, "I guess."

A bit surprised, Furugori gave him a look, before going back to the console. Looking over to Uzatei, he asked, "Are you interested in this kinda stuff, Uzatei-san?"

The Fashion Designer shrugged, "Not in particular. I did want to see how difficult it was to operate though. To think you need a degree for these kinds of things. Then again, Monokuma may have changed it just so that we could mess with it if desired. I mean, those shutters open, right? And if the telescope can raise up, well heavy machinery could be dangerous."

Fearing the train of thought he was going down, Ichijou laughed, "Ahaha we should be going. See you later, Furugori-kun!"

"O-okay. Later then," the Computer Engineer stuttered.

Uzatei gave a shrug, before heading back up the small staircase. As they headed out, Uzatei asked, "Was there a problem?" Smirking, he asked, "Afraid of anyone getting any ideas?"

Disgruntled, Ichijou replied, "I don't think it's very funny."

With a disappointed sigh, Uzatei shrugged, "Fine, fine. I suppose Monokuma is bad enough. Well, he just gives us reasons to kill, not suggesting much in the way of the actual execution of the murders. Except when he's exe-"

"Stop it already!" Ichijou insisted. This time Uzatei complied, keeping quiet as they went down the stairs.

Reaching the bottom, Ichijou noticed another path through the woods, and from the vantage, he could see the smoke coming from the same direction. Before he could say anything, Uzatei spoke, "I apologize, Ichijou-san. I have a tendency to ramble..."

Looking over at him, Ichijou nodded, "It's okay, it's just...yesterday was kinda rough." Not wanting to go down that road, Ichijou quickly said, "'Ichijou-kun' is fine, by the way."

Heading down the path, the pair walked for several minutes until they reached yet another building. Nestled in the forest and the intersection of two paths was what seemed to be a Cabin. However, it was only slightly different than the one that had been on the Ground Level. While it was also two stories, and had a similar shape, the construction seemed sturdier, and the light coming from the windows made it seem quite cozy. It also wasn't burnt to a crisp.

Heading inside, Ichijou couldn't help but notice that the layout was nearly identical to the Cabin far below. This one seemed much cozier though if he could get by that. In fact, someone was enjoying the atmosphere right now: Saruta Bimaru sat on one of the chairs, positioned near a roaring fire. His outfit had barely changed, the light blue dress shirt under his lab coat having been swapped for a sweater.

Stepping in, Ichijou smiled, "Hey there, Saruta-kun. Feeling better?"

Saruta looked up at the two, giving a quick nod, before replying, "Yes, thank you. I was sober last night, but I was not in good health this morning. A hangover, I believe. Some water helped with that-"

"Ha!" Uzatei suddenly cheered. At the looks from the other two, he explained, "Well, earlier...never mind, continue."

Saruta shrugged, saying, "I had little more to say. It is nice to see that you are in good spirits, at least. A healthy mind is a strong foe to oncoming sickness."

Ichijou laughed, "Oh, that explains why I don't get sick a whole lot!"

Saruta nodded, "As expected." Looking around, he noted, "I don't think there's much to see here, and I've already given the rest of the Level a look, so if you require me, I'll be in the Medical Building." With one last nod, he stood, making his way to the exit.

As he left, Ichijou waved, "Later then, Saruta-kun!"

Uzatei shrugged, "He left rather quickly. Why was he in such a hurry?"

Ichijou blinked, asking, "What do you remember from last night?"

Uzatei thought for a moment, before recalling, "I know there were some words between you and him, he had some self-disrespecting lines...ah, perhaps he's still embarrassed? Not that I blame him." Suddenly a bit disheartened, Ichijou hoped that wasn't the case.

Going back to the task at hand, the pair gave the Cabin a look. Sure enough, even as they passed through the Kitchen and went upstairs, the layout was the same as the one below. As they passed the closet on the second story, Ichijou couldn't help but cringe at the memory of Andou's corpse, feeling grateful that Uzatei didn't care to open it.

Finishing the exploration, the pair left the Cabin, returning to the outside. Going down the path, they reached the middle section of the long one that ran alongside the Lift. Looking around Uzatei noted, "Well, I think that was it, no? Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to check the outskirts and see if there are any secret areas, like the Stream. I'll be down for dinner in a little while."

Nodding, Ichijou said, "Okay, thanks for exploring with me, Uzatei-kun."

With a nod, Uzatei said, "Don't mention it." At that, he headed back down the path.

Figuring he didn't have much else to do, Ichijou began to head back down. However, about halfway back to the bottom, a call from above baffled him. Looking up, he saw Ishihara Jouji, wearing his dark yellow coat properly, a pair of boots, a knit cap, and goggles. He stood on the Lift chair, arm wrapped around the bar. Ichijou gawked, a bit worried that he might fall, or even more likely, jump.

Even so, a smile was clear on his face, and Ishihara raised his hand, pointing up the slope, calling, "Mitsuzi-kun! Come back up!"

Thought he wasn't quite sure what was going on, Ichijou felt that there was no reason to deny him. He responded, yelling back, "Okay!"

Figuring it would be better to ride than to walk, he down the path to the landing, before hopping onto a Lift chair, a bit easier this time. The ride up was no less tense though, as he felt like the wind was picking up a bit. However, despite his concerns, he made it up alright. Hopping off, he smiled as he encountered Ishihara in the Lift Store.

Ishihara greeted, "Yo! How are you today, Mitsuzi-kun? Holding up alright?"

Ichijou gave a nod, before saying with less certainty than he'd hoped, "I'm doing fine..."

Not pressing the matter, Ishihara said, "Anyway, I had to show someone: I checked out the Observatory, right? Well, turns out, there's a secret passage underground! I bet it'll connect to that metal door at the top of the Mines. I haven't given it a look yet though, wanna help? Furugori-kun's still at the Observatory, but he said he wasn't too interested in more spelunking, so I wanted to find someone else."

"Okay. Well, I'll go with you!" Ichijou agreed.

Grateful for the assistance, Ishihara led the way out, and the duo headed back down the upper path, reaching the Observatory, ascending and reentering. Once inside, Ichijou noticed one marked change from last time: part of the dome above had shifted to the side, resulting in a square gap, which let snow drift in. Heading over to the top of the stairs leading to the control console, Ishihara asked, "Handling everything okay, Furugori-kun?"

Looking back up, Furugori nodded, "Yeah, just seeing what I can do. Be careful you guys!"

Ishihara suggested, "You might want to head down in a bit though: if the passage leads to the Mines at some point, I'm going back down to start dinner."

Furugori nodded, "Okay, I'll see you there!"

Satisfied, Ishihara changed course, heading to the opposite side of the telescope. Looking in the ditch, Ichijou saw that part of the floor below had opened up, folding into a ladder, which was now locked onto the fence circling the ditch. Knowing that a hanten did nothing regarding the clash between yukata and ladder, Ichijou began to climb on first, heading down. As he looked below, he actually saw a bit of light below, which was relieving. No more scrambling in the dark like during that investigation.

As he went down, he saw Ishihara following. After a few moments, the ladder finally ended, in a plain, but open looking room. Glancing through the large, missing fourth wall to the room, he was briefly mystified. Stepping out, he got a better look.

The upper underground complex was impressive, to say the least. A number of colorful lights illuminated the area. A wide path spiraled down to the unseen bottom surrounding a massive, pointed, metal Spire. Adding to it was a number of metal streams, linking the centerpiece to the fence around the path, causing images of a twirling dragon to form in Ichijou's mind.

Ishihara came to his side, impressed by the sight as well. He noted, "Man, this place is different. And what's with the...are those stores?" Going down the path, Ishihara approached the next opening, which was indeed a shop of some kind, seeming to sell toy trains and planes.

Noting the size of the place, Ichijou gasped, "There's gotta be more than a dozen stores here."

"No kidding, let's give them a look," Ishihara suggested. Going down, the two passed a number of stores: ones that sold stationary, toys, cheap electronics, expensive electronics, houseware, cookware, replica weapons, there were small, gutted cafés and restaurants, in a sad state of disrepair. All of them, especially the still normal looking ones, were expectedly abandoned, but also branded with logos of Arashimine Resort.

Ishihara laughed, "Man, they really milked what they could to try and get some extra money. They put a whole Mall here. I wonder if that was why there hasn't been anyone here at the Resort? Well, there was all that terrorism stuff."

Ichijou didn't disagree, but noted, "I still haven't seen anything like this though. It's just so...big! How does it compare to that tower in Tokyo?"

"The Tokyo Tower?" Ishihara asked

Ichijou nodded a bit sheepishly, "Oh, yeah, that's what it was called, eheh."

Ishihara looked back at the Spire, estimating, "This can't be more than thirty meters. But the Tokyo Tower is 333 meters! So, eleven of these pointy things."

Ichijou's eyes spun in their sockets as he tried to visualize it. "Eleven...eleven..." he muttered in disbelief.

Grabbing Ichijou by the shoulders, the Aeronaut shook him, saying, "Hey, get a grip on it, Mitsuzi-kun!" As Ichijou regained his composure, Ishihara backed up, saying, "We'll go check out the Tokyo Tower when we get out of here, okay? Promise."

Looking at the Spire again, Ichijou wondered aloud, "Really?"

Ishihara smiled, "Of course!"

Ichijou shook his head, saying somberly, "No, I mean, do you really think we can get out of here?"

Ishihara froze, before frowning, "Of course I do, but...I thought you'd be the last person to ask me that." Ichijou flinched, not wanting to admit anything. However, Ishihara's reaction was a bit unexpected: his face became sterner, and more hardened, as he said, "No, don't worry, it's fine, it's not your fault." Clearing his throat, he lightly slapped his face, before saying, "Let's get going, shall we?"

Not sure what to think, Ichijou simply nodded, and the two continued downward, passing a few storefronts and reaching the bottom, where there was one last room, with a metal door. Heading over, Ichijou gingerly reached for the handle in the door, pulling it. Glad it didn't burn him; it opened with a click, but beyond was only darkness.

Luckily, Ishihara was prepared, pulling out a flashlight. Clicking it on, he scanned the area around. Ichijou looked out, seeing a caved in tunnel and a familiar rusted lever, with an empty mine cart nearby. They were indeed at the top of the Mines.

Their exploring done, the duo headed through the Mine, which had been cleared of most of its mess: Mikage's corpse was gone, the elevator cleaned, and the pile of rubble from the cave in was out of the way of the ladder. The pair made their way past all of that, reaching the Auditorium. By the time they got outside, Ichijou could hear the sound of cicadas from the forest nearby. He couldn't help but feel hot, taking off his hanten and hanging it on his arms. He considered returning it to the room at the entrance of the Fourth Level, but the walk was far too long.

When they reached the Lodges, Ichijou broke off, Ishihara heading to the Restaurant to start cooking, while Ichijou made his way back to his Lodge, folding his hanten and putting it on his chair, and leaving the geta sandals and tabi socks near the door, before returning to the Resort Restaurant, where a few of the others had already situated themselves, their winter clothing gone. However, there was a change: the two tables had been returned to their original positions, each surrounded by eight chairs. Ichijou didn't ask about the change though, fully aware as to why it had been done: almost half of them had died since the Game of Mutual Killing began.

Sitting down, Ichijou quickly asked, "So, did anyone find anything? Jouji-kun found what was behind that metal door at the top of the Mines, there's another underground section."

Minami raised an eyebrow, asking, "Really? How did he find it?"

Furugori answered, "He was looking around the Observatory. I guess he noticed something weird because he dropped down into the ditch and pulled up a ladder. I'll give it a look another time though."

As he spoke, Uzatei returned, the last to arrive, still wearing his heavy clothing, taking it off and putting it on the back of his chair as he sat. He nodded in greeting, before turning to Ichijou and saying, "I gave the Level a look on the edges, but there were no other paths, elevators, doors...I believe all that's left is that door on the upper part of the Mines."

Ichijou laughed, "Er, Jouji-kun and I already checked that out. It's a pretty big area, like a Mall. Might be worth a better look later."

Uzatei blinked before nodding, "I see." Adjusting his glasses, he asked, "Well, did anyone find anything? A book, perhaps?" He glanced over to the white Secret Volume at the mention of books.

Ganaha said, "I think we'd have seen it if they had." Turning to Uzatei, she asked, "But more importantly, where'd you get that coat?"

Ichijou explained, "Oh, the Fourth Level is really cold and snowy, but there was cold weather clothing for us. You've got a long fur coat."

Lighting up, Ganaha gleefully, "Hey, that sounds fabulous! Ohoho, I need to give the Fourth Level a look tomorrow."

With that, the conversation dwindled a bit until Ishihara finally came out with a dinner of pasta. Looking around and seeing everyone, he laughed, "Man, food really does bring everyone together."

"At least physically," Minami grunted dourly. No one offered a response, simply getting their food quietly.

As everyone sat, Uzatei reiterated, "Well, as discussed, unless there are some undiscovered secrets, we've given every possible door and path a look. And yet, we still haven't found that first book."

Saruta noted, pointing at the white book, "Well, technically, that's the first."

Minami nodded, "And speaking of that book, shall I summarize?"

Ishihara replied, "Please?"

Minami reached over, grabbing the book and opening it. She shook her head, "Like the last one, it lists a number of people involved: sixteen, like before, all Students of Hope's Peak with their various Talents. However, there was no Monokuma: instead, it was instigated by one of the sixteen students, a girl named Enoshima Junko, who proclaimed herself 'Super High School Level Despair'."

Uzatei spat out his drink, luckily pointing his head away from the table as he did so. Eyes wide, he coughed, "E-Enoshima what-now?"

Minami blinked, repeating, "Enoshima Junko."

Still a bit surprised, Uzatei leaned in intently, "Do go on."

Minami continued, "Well, the Killing Game began, but it went far differently than the others. There was no Resort, island or mountain, but a abandoned school building. There were far less rules, and the result..." Opening the book to a certain page, she showed the picture of a boy with long, black hair and dark red eyes, explaining, "This person: Super High School Level Hope, Kamukura Izuru, singlehandedly killed thirteen of the students, either through manipulation or dirtying his own hands. He and the overseer, Enoshima, escaped, while one other student survived, though with a head injury. This was called, 'The Most Despair Inducing Incident in Hope's Peak Academy's History'."

Ichijou crossed his arms over his chest, grumping in confusion, "I...how...that doesn't sound like a Super High School Level Hope at all!"

Uzatei nodded, agreeing, "I can't say for certain what those titles mean exactly, but I would think a Super High School Level Hope would fight against Despair, not play along."

Looking at the book, Furugori mentioned, "That's horrible, but...why is the book so big if the incident was so short?"

Minami bowed her head grimly, "Most of it is introductions to the Victims: life stories practically, on all of them except for Enoshima and Kamukura. All of that build up, only to lead to their deaths. It's a twisted joke."

Ganaha muttered, "The worst thing to happen at Hope's Peak...I guess it happened recently, or else I think we'd have heard about it, right?"

Ichijou grumbled, "Ugh, it's like everything went crazy over the past couple years."

Minami shook her head, claiming, "The book claims that the Incident was covered up, or at least, an attempt was made to cover it up."

Nagasaki's brow furrowed as she wondered, "Then how was that book made?"

Uzatei said plainly, "Well, that book just confirmed it: Super High School Level Despair was behind the first Killing Game, so I think it's likely they're behind this one as well."

Ishihara gasped, suddenly in thought, before saying, "That means...so, it's not Hope's Peak, it's this girl! Enoshima Junko." Looking over to Uzatei, he asked, "Have you heard of her?"

Uzatei grumbled, "It rings a bell: a loud one. I don't know about Despair, but her name reached my ears from her modeling career. I only know of her as a young Supermodel. But why would Hope's Peak accept her as 'Despair'? And where did the Kamukura character come from? They don't sound like normal Titles."

Ishihara huffed, "We've gotta find those other books!"

Ganaha snarled, "Why bother? They're not going to say anything useful! Just more and more questions!" Stopping, she rubbed her head, sighing, "Headache: we meet again."

Ichijou admitted, "It is kinda annoying, but I feel like we're making progress."

Ishihara nodded, "Agreed! And since we have the whole Resort to search, I think we should spend tomorrow trying to find the other book!"

Uzatei shrugged, "Well, it's not as though we have anything better to do."

Minami nodded, "I'll take any sort of progress."

Saruta gave a quick reminder, "We'll have another incentive tomorrow too, right?"

Ichijou sighed, "Unfortunately."

Ishihara admitted, "We can't really do anything about that yet."

Uzatei raised a curious eyebrow, asking, "Yet?"

Ishihara frowned, before saying, "We...er, nothing." Standing, he began to grab the cleared dishes, taking them away.

With his meal finished, Ichijou went to help, but Minami came up from behind him, grabbing him by the shoulder, asking, "Would you come with me for a moment?"

Looking around Ichijou said, "Uh, yeah, that'd be fine." As Ichijou noticed the worried gaze of Saruta, Ichijou simply nodded, insisting his words were truth.

The pair was the first to leave the Restaurant, Minami taking Ichijou down past the Lodges, where she stopped, entering hers, returning with a piece of paper. Once she had her things, they headed down to the Ground Level. Reaching the bottom of the slope, she pointed to the forest, saying, "There's a small clearing near the cliff, I'll keep my distance so you don't feel threatened."

Ichijou blinked, insisting, "I don't feel threatened."

Minami sighed, "You should be. You're too laid back!" Feeling a bit standoffish, Ichijou ignored her, heading into the woods. Minami followed, ensuring he went the right direction. Sure enough, Ichijou entered a clearing, not even five minutes away from the road. However, it wasn't simply an empty clearing: there were two stumps and two felled trees, and Minami's hatchet was embedded in one of the stumps.

As Minami headed over to the clear stump, she took her piece of paper and laid it down, beckoning for Ichijou to come over. The Luckster complied, looking over what appeared to be a makeshift blueprint.

Ichijou wondered aloud, "What is it?"

Minami answered, "We're starting small: I'm going to try and build a canoe, to take over the Lake. The other tree is for the oars. You won't be of much help, but you'd do me a favor by trimming one of those trees of branches and such." Going over to the other stump, she pulled out her hatchet, saying, "Allow me to demonstrate."

Ichijou watched quietly as Minami took her axe to the closet tree, hacking off branches in a few strikes and tossing them aside into a pile. When she was half done, she wiped her forehead, before sticking her hatchet back in the stump. Turning to Ichijou, she added, "I would suggest asking Nagasaki for her hatchet. It's not like she's using it."

Looking between the hatchet and the partly pruned tree, Ichijou shrugged, "Well, I guess I did say I'd help."

Minami nodded, "I wouldn't mind if you waited until tomorrow to start, I still need to find some way to fashion the right tools."

Ichijou gave a lazy nod, "Gotcha." With a nod, he turned to leave, knowing there was still more to do. As he reached the treeline though, there was a 'thunk' from behind him. Stopping, he looked over to see Minami's hatchet sticking out of the ground, likely having been thrown. Ichijou glanced back at Minami, who seemed to be seething.

A bit disgruntled, Ichijou shouted, "Hey! I said I'd help!"

Minami grunted, "You sound like you couldn't care less."

Gritting his teeth, Ichijou grumbled, "Whadda mean!?"

Minami stomped towards him, stating, "You've been acting unusual all day."

Ichijou yelled, "I'm fine! I've been normal! One hundred percent normal!"

Minami insisted, "And, not counting today, when was the last time you got mad at anyone and shouted? Kobayashi? Nagasaki? Sanada? Your escape attempt in the forest? Surely someone made a mistake."

Ichijou shook his head vigorously, tossing his shaggy hair about. He was about to say 'Saruta', but that was different. He wasn't really mad, or at least, not like this. However, even as he thought to himself, Minami continued, "And what if I were to ask Ishihara about how you've been acting? Or Uzatei? What would they say?"

Ichijou cried out, "That I've been fine!"

Baring her teeth, Minami took a step forwards, forcing Ichijou to back up, causing him to move against a tree. She gazed down at him, and Ichijou tensely stood against the tree, not retracting his words, or backing down.

Ichijou flinched as Minami grabbed her hatchet, closing his eyes and turning away. However, instead, he heard Minami back away. Daring to peek, he saw her slip it into her belt, and breathed a sigh of relief. She grunted, "Fine, if you want to be lethargic and keep moping, be my guest. Everyone dies. Lingering on it is just time you could have spent trying to live your life."

Ichijou grunted weakly, "Sh-shut up." With a snort, Minami complied, heading back over to her fallen trees. Not really in the mood to help any longer, Ichijou left without another word, feeling the advent of a headache coming on. It was getting dark too, and Ichijou was strangely tired, even though he'd spent half the day sleeping. As he climbed the slope, he muttered to himself, "Stop worrying over me..." As he went to his Lodge, he felt a pressure on his chest. He felt like everyone's expectations of him were weighing down. But what was the 'Ichijou Mitsuzi' they were hoping for, and what weren't they getting? Was he just not being as cheerful or enthusiastic?

Getting to his Lodge, he opened the door and stepped inside. Closing it behind him, he stood still at the entrance, still in thought, still in conflict between the part of him that wanted to help keep everyone's spirits up and the part that didn't know what he wanted. Unable to bare it, he raised his fist, turning and slamming it into the wall. There was the bang of his fist on the painted wood and the pop of one of his knuckles, quickly followed by pain. With a grunt of frustration, he leaned against the wall, bumping his head into it before smacking it with the bottom of his fist. It didn't calm him down very much though, it only served to make him even more confused, frustrated, and scared.

"On my signal... Execute!"

A loud gunshot pierced through the light buzz of cicadas on the road outside of Arashimine Resort, flanked by a seemingly endless forest. The road was not clear, however: there were a number of blockades set up, in the form of fallen trees, broken down vehicles, or piles of sandbags. The light was dim in the late night, and yet a number of forms were positioned behind those barricades, rifles positioned on top, aiming away from the tunnel into the Resort. A spotlight was set up in the front of the formation, shedding light down the road.

At the sound of the gunshot, an instant later, one of these forms was struck from its position, shot down like a fly in the rain. Just following that, a figure burst from the trees, a pistol in hand. It was a girl, taller than average, but likely young. She had blonde hair that was tied into a bun underneath a navy blue cap. She wore navy blue shorts and a white tank top underneath a black sweat jacket, the stylized lines signifying Future Foundation emblazoned across it, the left side surrounded by a half circle. Her jacket flowed as she moved, raising her pistol at the two nearest forms, shooting one, nailing it right in the crown, before turning on the other, and doing the same.

As she bunkered down next to her first target, she first realized that its head was missing. Then she realized that it wasn't a person at all, but a dummy, covered in concealing black and white clothing. The only thing she had shot was a biking helmet, knocking it off.

Aside from the cicadas, however, it was frighteningly quiet. Going to her communicator, she hissed, "Shiata-san, they aren't people! They're just decoys."

Peeking over the barricade, she looked over to a partition in the trees, where she caught the glint of a sniper rifle lens, the location of the 38th Class's Super High School Level Sniper. She heard his voice in her ear, as he said, "Keep your eyes and ears open, they may be waiting. For all that resistance farther up the road...they can't be spread that thin, can they?" After a few moments, he suggested, "We would have seen them if they were in the woods though... Shoot a flare into the tunnel, Tsujimoto, and be quick."

Tsujimoto Miyuki, Super High School Level Junior Police Officer of the Honorary 80th Class, complied, following the orders of her mentor. Reaching into her jacket, she pulled out a small flare gun, carefully peeking above the barricades as she raised it and fired. A sparking flare soared over the barricades and into the tunnel, where it illuminated yet more unused vehicles and sandbag placements, weapons aligned atop them, dark shapes nearby. Tsujimoto took them for more dummies, but Shiata warned, with a slight bit of sadistic pleasure in his voice, "Watch closely, but don't move." And when the greatest sniper in the world warned you, it was wise to listen.

Several shots rang out, and Tsujimoto watched as, one by one, the shapes fell. Even when all the ones she saw were gone, Shiata kept firing, only pausing to reload. Tsujimoto realized what he was aiming at: targets that had been illuminated by her flare as it had past, but before it had landed. She shuddered, being very relieved that he was on her side.

As he stopped, this time for good, she couldn't help but look over to his position, swearing she could see a short trail of smoke presumably coming from his heated rifle. Her attention was regained when she heard Shiata order, "Alright, you're on point. I'll move to a better position, but I doubt we'll see any resistance. Move quickly. We don't want to be surrounded."

Not possessing as much confidence as her mentor, Tsujimoto readied her weapon, before heading over, keeping low as she entered the tunnel to the Resort. Having been prepared, she reached into her sweat jacket again, this time pulling out a flashlight, holding it and her pistol together, panning it around as she cautiously proceeded. Looking around, she confirmed that the shapes had indeed been dummies, so she was probably safe, for now.

Weaving through the barricades, she made her way deeper and deeper in. After a few minutes, the barricades stopped, and the path was clear. She heard Shiata over her communicator, his voice breaking slightly as he warned, "You left my field of view. If you get into trouble, you're on your own."

"Roger," Tsujimoto replied back, getting less worried as the path cleared. Returning her pistol to the holster under her arm, she kept going with only her flashlight. However, she stopped as she saw something that was not the road: it was a wall, blocking her path. The first thing she noticed was that the brick wall filled the tunnel completely, going from side to side to floor to ceiling. Then, as if to taunt her, she noticed a gap in the wall. She quickly reported, "The tunnel's blocked off, we can get in this way." There was no response back, thought Tsujimoto could only guess as to why, hoping it was just that she was out of range.

Curious, she went to the gap, which was caused by a missing brick. Looking in, she saw that even beyond, it was still blocked: dirt packed the area behind the wall. It had caved in: even if the wall was broken, they still would not be able to pass through. Even if they were to try, by the time they got through this, chances are it would all be over, if it wasn't already.

As she was about to report to Shiata, however, she noticed a paper. Grateful for any clue, she gingerly reached in and took it out quickly, as if the gap would swallow her hand whole. Unfolding it, she read it quickly. It hadn't taken long of course, because once she read the first few words, the rest filled in automatically. She, and the rest of Future Foundation, had been trying to find the meaning of these words, and the fact that they hadn't only reminded Tsujimoto that their efforts thus far had been in failure. But the fact that this was here in such a well-guarded position: they were being taunted. Frustrated, she crumpled the paper and shoved it into her pocket as the words ran through her mind once again.

As she returned to the outside, she muttered to herself bitterly, "'Sixteen swallows hope', huh?"

Chapter 4 begins! It looks like Future Foundation is on the move with a familiar face!

Anyway, it's Ganaha and Saruta for our Free Time. Saruta got an overwhelming amount of votes (everyone no doubt interested after his, uh, drunk talk). The other three were tied, but I chose Ganaha because I think both I and a number of my readers like her silliness.

Also, in other news, I'm now on tumblr (if you do that sort of thing). You can follow me at .com and my fic page is hopesfreedom. I'll be linking new chapters there when they're up, if that interests you! Thanks for reading regardless!